Hiking Boot Lacing Techniques

If you wear hiking boots and get blisters when you go hiking or if your boots don’t fit as well as you’d like, there are a handful of powerful hiking boot lacing techniques that you can use to dial in a good fit. Unfortunately, these lacing techniques have become somewhat of a lost art since well-trained boot fitters are so scarce.

However by learning these techniques, you can completely eliminate the painful banging of your toes against the front of your boots, heel lift which causes those painful heel blisters, and sore spots on the top of your foot where the laces are tied too tightly. If you experience any of these issues, you need to watch these videos!

The Heel Lock

For example, if you get heel blisters when you go hiking, it’s probably because your heel is lifting up when you take a step forward and rubbing against the inside of your boot. This source of friction causes a blister, essentially a friction burn, on the back of your foot.

However, can eliminate heel lift using a lacing technique that people call the Heel Lock. Rather than using the normal back and forth diagonal lacing most of us know, this lacing technique (shown in the video above) uses the open hooks (speed lacing system) on the side of your boots to create a pulley like system for mechanical advantage, letting you crank down the most resistant leather or plastic boots and firmly lock your heel in place.

I use this Heel Lock lacing technique in winter to tie my mountaineering boots and it works extremely well for eliminating heel lift. It takes a little practice to tie, but is definitely worth learning, and can be used with any boot, trail runner, or shoe where heel lift is an issue.

The Surgeon’s Knot

Another essential lacing technique is called the Surgeon’s Knot, which my father, a doctor, taught me when I was a young boy. It’s like the simple overhand loop that you normally use when tying shoes but instead of just going around once and pulling it taught, you go around twice or even three times, creating a friction-based lace lock which won’t slip loose when you let go.

Using a Surgeon’s Knot, it’s possible to isolate different parts of your laces from one another, creating areas that are tighter or looser. For instance, if you have a sore spot on the top of your foot above your arch, you could make the laces below it tight, lock them off with a Surgeon’s Knot, and then tie the area above the sore spot more loosely. The Surgeon’s Knot is shown in the second video above, along with the Heel Lock again.

Lacing Windows

Lacing windows are another useful, but counter-intuitive lacing technique that breaks traditions with the standard back and forth diagonal lacing we’re all familiar with. Instead of threading a lace diagonally, you thread it vertically to the next higher eyelet on the boot, creating a gap in the lacing that relieves some of the pressure on the top of the foot. This is good for people with high arches or who get sore spots on the top of their feet when their laces are tied too tightly (see the video above for a demonstration.)

The Myth of Well Fitting Boots

Unless you are willing to spend the money for a custom pair of hiking boots that are tailor made for your feet, you will probably have to adapt the fit of your boots using the lacing techniques describe here, augmented with one or more sock layers and insoles. This is the norm when it comes to fitting hiking boots and becomes more important the heavier and stiffer the boot is. Individual variations between individuals and even between feet (see Is One of Your Feet Bigger than the Other?) make it unlikely that you’ll find a pair of boots that fit both of your feet perfectly, hence the need to have multiple tools including these advanced lacing techniques in your quiver of boot fitter tricks.

I’ve been organizing and leading mountaineering expeditions to Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp and Mt. Ararat for some years now. This is what I have to say regarding your question whether it’s ok to use athletic shoes for your 30 mile hike. First, I have to ask what type of terrain is the trail you’re going on? Is it a well maintained hiking trail, an access backroad, a less-traveled path into the bush or a combination of either? What kind of environment are you going to be hiking in? A desert, forest, arid & rocky, alpine, along the coast, or a combination of either? What type of weather are you going to anticipate? Sunny, dry, humid, rainy, snowy or… you guessed it, a combination of either? Are you going to be carrying a light backpack (20lbs) on your back throughout your hike? What type of experience do you have hiking long distances and fitness level are you in? And finally, what type of athletic shoes are you planning to use? They come in so many shapes and colors, you need to be more specific. What are they designed for?

All these factors play into what type of footwear to strap on your feet for your journey. Without getting into too many details, the rougher the terrain the better it is (but not necessary) to wear mid-cut hiking boots. I say not necessary given the fact you have no steep terrain to tackle and assuming you’re not carrying a heavy backpack. Trails full of small rocks and scree tend to reek havoc on the feet, especially the ankles. You’ll need the extra support of a dedicated shoe. Wet or snowy terrain will turn your feet into prunes in no time unless your footwear is designed to be water resistant.

The hike you described can be easily doable in an Off-Trail running shoes. They tend to have thicker outsoles, stiffer and more cushioned outsoles and more rugged threads for better grip and stability. If you’re sporting your garden variety running shoes, the bottom tend to be too soft and thin intended for the shoes to roll with your feet on flat surfaces, but they don’t offer good enough support for long hauls, especially while carrying heavy weights. The principle here is that you’ll most likely need shoes that have stiffer footbeds and outsoles to shield your feet from stepping on pebbles, rocks and roots, and offer better stability. Mind you, they don’t need to be titanium stiff like high-altitude mountaineering boots. Pay attention if your shoes have a thicker outsoles, you’ll need the cushioning when going off-road. Again, if you’re carrying a backpack, the heavier, the more the need for a mid to high cut boots. As far as your athletic fitness is concerned, if your feet are used to working hard for you on regular basis, you’ll be able to better bear the brunt of this venture. If not, seriously consider upgrading to dedicated shoes for more comfort and assurance you’ll make it to the finish line.

Thanks for this post. Very useful. You’ve opened up a whole new world for me! I was previously very ignorant in my lacing. I never knew about any other techniques. I don’t really ever get blisters at all but I do sometimes end up with some sore spots (feels like bruising). I think I’ll be able to alleviate that after some experimentation with these techniques.

If the bruising is on your shins, try loosening the top laces up so that you can insert two fingers in back of the tongue; best to use a heel lock or surgeons knot in this case to keep the bottom of the boot tight. If the bruising is on top of your foot, then the lacing window is the way to go.

I’ve used athletic shoes on some trips, and more normal hiking shoes on others. It is more the rockyness of the trail than the climb that makes a difference. It would be good to make sure that the soles of the athletic shoes are on the firmer side of things – some running shoes have very soft soles and you can feel variations in the floor (like the edge of a carpet) through them. The shoes, worn with polypro liner socks dried within 20 minutes of walking through a stream (i timed it). When it’s really rocky I prefer ankle high shoes with a decent toe box to avoid dinging my ankles or really stubbing my toes.

There are a number of citations on this website about inov-8 terrocs – and the inov-8 trail shoes are what I now use.

It’s also important to work out what kinds of socks work best for you. One of my sons and I just wear polypro liners, while my other son finds smart wool works – so it is fairly individual. (though stay away from cotton).

Runners often use these different styles of lacing. Its even more important to have well-fitting shoes during a race so you don’t need to stop.

I use the “lacing window” technique to relieve pressure on the top of my foot in trainers, and I think a variation on the “heel lock” is the standard method for lacing Sportiva Mythos climbing shoes. It really works!

There are a handful of functional styles there. I actually like the so-called “hiker” lacing a lot on my Inov8s. It cinches the sides close without putting much pressure on the instep. The side-oriented bow has no advantages, though. Maybe more importantly, I finally un-learned the granny knot. No more wet, cold double knots to undo at the end of the day.

What about toenail bruising with low boots? They don’t feel too small… and one of my feet is a half size bigger, but both of my toes ended up bruised after a particularly hill-y day on the AT – nothing too painful, but I’d like to avoid it in the future!

Toe slam was always a problem for me in the past with several pair of leather boots but it went away with my Innov-8 288 GTX trail runners. When I tried conventional boots that were long enough to prevent my toes from hitting, the rest of the boot was too loose. The trail runners have solved that since the fit seems better for me. If I’d known of these lacing techniques, I might have saved some problems in the past with my old boots or been able to size them with enough toe clearance and still lock the ankles to prevent blisters. The trail runners came pre-laced with the heel lock technique and I’ve continued to use them the way they came, which may also explain the difference.

I’ve never had blisters with the trail runners but got a couple nasty ones two months ago when I used my retired leather boots on a motorcycling/hiking expedition with my brother in law. The trail runners can’t take the abuse of motorcycling but after the blister incident, I packed them on the back of the bike for hiking once we got somewhere.

I just watched the boot tying videos. They’re all misleading because they fail to mention the most important aspect of tying books. This is one I learned from years of playing ice hockey and speed skating. When lacing your boots/skates ALWAYS put your heel on the ground and raise the toe of the boot about 45 degees. This helps to set the heel of your foot in the back of the boot. Then using a good lacing technique it will stay there.

Think I need your expert help!!! I’ve bought two pairs of hiking boots and have found the same problem with both of them …. my outer ankle bones get SO bruised that I then can’t wear them the following day as it’s agony. My first pair seemed to finish in line with the bone so thought this was probably the problem so bought a second pair that finish above the bones and tried them out in the Scottish Highlands a couple of days ago but still agony. They are both so comfortable everywhere else and cost a lot of money :-( Both are really padded around the inside ankle area too. I’ve tried doing them tight then loosening them off but to no avail. Is there anything I can do or do I just have stupid ankles?!! Lol ;-) Any help would be much appreciated …

I do ladder lacing. It is true that it is more of a time investment than conventional lacing in terms of tying my boots when putting them on. I have never had laddered laces come untied, though, and they loosen very little over the course of the day. http://flic.kr/p/8WtTbg

I’ve found what works best for me to eliminate toe bruising is to put a lot of tension on the first two rows of eyelets and use a surgeon’s knot to lock it. Lace normally up the foot and then use the h eel lock.